Manfred Lautenschläger Award

The award, made possible by Manfred Lautenschläger through his foundation, specifically benefits the humanities and cultural studies, whose role as disciplines that provide guidance for our present day he emphasizes through his focus on history, society, and culture. It is intended to serve as both a “recognition” and a “driving force” for young researchers.

The award is endowed with 10,000 euros and will be awarded for the first time in 2022.

Who is eligible for nomination?

Authors nominated for the award must be no older than 35 years of age on the submission deadline. The proposed works must have been accepted as scholarly achievements by a university or research institute in the state of Baden-Württemberg and must have been published or submitted for publication within the preceding two years. The award cannot be shared among multiple recipients.

Who may submit nominations?

All members of the Philosophical and Historical Class of the Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
The leadership of all academic institutions at universities in Baden-Württemberg (rectors, deans, Managing Directors, institute directors)
The leadership of all non-university research institutions in Baden-Württemberg (Managing Directors)
Self-nominations are not permitted

The Donor

Manfred Lautenschläger, born on December 15, 1938, in Karlsruhe, studied law in Heidelberg, Freiburg, and Hamburg after completing high school and his military service. He passed the second state examination in 1968. After a brief stint as a lawyer, he—together with Eicke Marschollek—brought to life the idea of “advising college graduates” on insurance matters, independently of insurance companies.

On January 1, 1971, Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner KG was founded; it was later converted into a limited liability company (GmbH) and, in 1984, into a stock corporation. The company went public on June 15, 1988 (Stuttgart and Frankfurt).

Manfred Lautenschläger served as Chairman of the Board of Marschollek, Lautenschläger und Partner AG from 1984 to 1993 and of the newly founded MLP Holding AG from 1993 to 1999. At the Annual Shareholders’ Meeting on May 19, 1999, he moved from the Executive Board to the company’s Supervisory Board, where he assumed the chairmanship. He stepped down as chairman in 2008. He resigned from the Supervisory Board in 2018. On June 14, 2018, the Supervisory Board of MLP SE appointed him as its Honorary Chairman.

In March 2002, he established the Manfred Lautenschläger Stiftung gGmbH, whose purpose is to promote science and research, education and training, art and culture, international understanding, and a sense of local identity.

On November 10, 1998, he was awarded the title of Honorary Senator by the Ruprecht Karls University in Heidelberg, and on October 18, 2008, he received an honorary doctorate.

On March 23, 2009, he was awarded the Cross of Merit, First Class, of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

He is married and the father of five children.

The Award Recipients

The award has been presented since 2022 for work in the humanities and cultural studies with a focus on history, society, and culture. It is intended to serve as both a “recognition” and a “driving force” for young researchers.

Past award recipients:

Jahr	Name	Titel
2026	Rauschenberger, Joey	Wiedergutmachung für Sinti und Roma. Eine Praxisgeschichte der Entschädigung von NS-Unrecht in Baden-Württemberg 1945–1980
2025	Hausen, Maike	Reviewing Britain’s Presence East of Suez. Australian, Canadian and New Zealand Foreign Policy Considerations Surrounding Southeast Asia, 1956–1971
2024	Ahner, Helen	Planetarien. Wunder der Technik – Techniken des Wunders
2023	Landa, Sara	'Die Ferne läßt sie unsern Dingen gleichen‘. Annäherungen an die chinesische Dichtung in der deutschen Lyrik vom Expressionismus bis zur Gegenwart
2022	Sowada, Lena	Der schriftliche Sprachgebrauch weniger geübter Schreiber in Ego-Dokumenten aus der deutsch-französischen Grenzregion während des Ersten Weltkriegs

Nomination Deadline

Annually: March 1 – June 30

What needs to be submitted?

Cover sheet

Dokument

Vorblatt-Preise_0.docx
Justification for the proposal (maximum of two pages)
Curriculum Vitae
List of Publications
Award-Winning Work

The documents should be submitted as a single PDF file and sent to hadw@hadw-bw.de

When will the decision be made?

The Academy will announce its decision at the beginning of the year. The award recipient and their mentor will be notified of the result in writing.

Do you have any questions?

You can reach us by phone at 06221 54-3265 or by email at hadw[at]hadw-bw.de .

If you wish to send the documents by mail, please send them to:

Heidelberg Academy of Sciences and Humanities
Executive office
Karlstraße 4
69117 Heidelberg